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No more subsidy: Senate passes N4.493tn 2015 budget

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Five months after the executive submitted its spending proposals to it, the Senate on Tuesday passed a national budget of N4.493tn for the 2015 fiscal year, which is devoid of provisions for fuel subsidy.

There was however, a budget of N21bn for the funding of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

The national budget, which was earlier passed by the House of Representatives last week, was N51bn higher than the N4.425tn submitted to both chambers of the National Assembly by the Federal Government.

The Chairman, Joint Senate Committee on Appropriation and Finance, Mohammed Maccido, confirmed that the executive did not make provision for fuel subsidy in the 2015 budget and that the National Assembly left it the way it was presented.

He said, “There was no provision in the budget for subsidy but I believe there should be provision for it especially since there was already a disagreement between the oil marketers and the Federal Government over subsidy payment.”

He added that the budget would be driven by $53 oil benchmark, an exchange rate of N190 to one US dollar; N2.2782m per barrel crude oil production per day; and deficit gross domestic product of -1.12 per cent.

Reacting to the development, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmad Lawan, said the incoming government was bound to review the 2015 fiscal budget because of various flaws.

“I believe that the incoming administration will very swiftly bring a request for a supplementary budget which will try to balance between the capital allocation, that will be very much required in Nigeria, and the recurrent.”

Also, Senator Olubumni Adetunbi said the incoming government would probably make changes “in form of supplementary budget in line with the policy of cutting the cost of governance because the budget is 20 per cent for capital while the rest is recurrent.”

Senator Ganiyu Solomon said implementation of the budget would pose a problem to the incoming administration.

A critical study of the budget also put fiscal deficit at N1.07tn, N953.6bn for debt service and N375.6bn as statutory transfers. Education takes the lion share of the budget with N392.3bn followed by N338.7bn for the military while N303.8bn was budgeted for police commands and formations

Also, N237bn was voted for the health sector, N153bn for the Ministry of Interior while the Ministry of Works had a meager sum of N25.1bn.

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0 Comments

  1. Jedimaster

    April 29, 2015 at 8:10 am

    If only we could get proper policies that improve the general quality of education in this country. The west places alot of empahsis on education because they know that education drives the future and the youth are the future. Here in Nigeria, the young perish and languish in ignorance while the old linger and pilfer as they please. God help us.

  2. Don Lucassi

    April 29, 2015 at 8:48 am

    This is the worst budget Ive read about in my life…I dont know the intent behind this mischief. The only solution is for the APC lawmakers in the house to find a way to get this budget stifled and cause postponement till the new government comes in. It was even done with the plan that the new government will cut government spending…like seriously. Now i see the reason for the fuel scarcity.

  3. Apachee zooma

    April 29, 2015 at 10:42 am

    The bird is home to roost, Don. This is about basic economics, some bitter truth. We can only postpone the evil day. What i think Buhari and co will do is stir a robust debate in the new assembly, secure a supplementary budget that will fund a subsidy regime, get popular support and thereafter confront us all with the reality of our situation.

  4. liquasa

    April 29, 2015 at 11:11 am

    so this is actually the reason i had to buy fuel for N250 per litre? can they allow this to be postpone so the new coming government can actually do on his administration..i no fit trek long o for lagos as a whole

  5. Apachee zooma

    April 29, 2015 at 1:55 pm

    If you be marketer, you go supply goods when the previous one has not been paid for? So much uncertainty over the subsidy regime. This is compounded by threats of probe by the in-coming government. Ol’boy, just arrange your canvass for long waka waka. Buhari eye dey chook seriously. Kasala go burst, no doubt.

  6. damizzle!!

    April 29, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    these figures are causing light headedness….. next story please!

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